


Good With Dishwashers

by Tahlruil



Series: Babbling Bucky Barnes [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: And Trying to Adult, Bucky Babbles, Bucky Needs Note Cards, Bucky is smitten, Crushes, First Meetings, How Do I Tag, It keeps getting longer, M/M, Meet-Cute, Meeting the Parents, Moving In Together, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Steve Rogers is a little shit, Steve watches, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony is in College, Tumblr Prompt, and laughs, tony doesn't know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-10 22:24:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11701092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahlruil/pseuds/Tahlruil
Summary: Prompt:"Brand new neighbours au prompt for winteriron, Where Bucky is smitten with Tony but Tony is oblivious, always in a hurry to reach college and complete his work. And can we have a worried Maria Stark who fusses over Tony and teaches Howard a lesson when he acts nonchalant. Steve finds it all very hilarious. Because he just can't get over his best friend's face whenever he talks about Tony. Happy ending."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Haha! Whipped a prompt fic out at last. XD I'm gonna get through those suckers, honest.
> 
> Comments maybe? :'D

"Steve." Only a grunt answered him, so Bucky reached out to give his shoulder a good smack. "Steve."

"I don't care."

"Stevie-"

"I don't care, Buck. I don't care what he's doing or what he's wearing or any of that. I have to get this piece done. You can tell me aaaaall about the day in the life of your crush when I finish, okay?"

"But _Stevie_. He's trying to do dishes again." Deadline or no, Steve practically threw his sketchbook away and turned on the couch to kneel next to Bucky. Across the way, easily seen through the big open windows of their neighbor's kitchen, they could see Tony. Not that they'd ever been introduced - the only reason Bucky knew his name was because he'd heard the guy's mom say it about twenty times in her lecture on how to be an adult before she'd tearfully left him on his own. The lesson hadn't stuck apparently, because every time the guy tried to do something even a little domestic, it tended to end in catastrophe.

He had lost power three times that Bucky had noticed - because the lights were usually on all night, so the sudden turning off of ALL of them had been a pretty big hint. Not because he was like, a stalker or a peeping Tom or anything. Anyway. The plumber's van had been parked outside maybe five times, and the cops had come around seven times because Tony had forgotten to turn off his alarm system after walking into his house. There'd been two nights when Bucky'd woken up because of screeching alarms of approaching firetrucks - each time his heart had pounded with fear until Tony wandered out into the suddenly-bright night looking both irritated and sooty. Bucky didn't know about the rest of the house, but his view into Tony's kitchen was really good, and he'd seen the man wander away in the middle of cooking dinner only to run back in an hour later to find it reduced to charcoal. He'd seen the guy sweep half the room before suddenly zipping away, tripping over the dropped broom when he finally wandered back. Tony had flooded the kitchen _ten times_ because he didn't know how to use the dishwasher properly and seemed to have some sort of moral objection to doing them by hand.

Tony'd moved in two weeks ago.

Their quiet little street had never been livelier, and Bucky'd been smitten since the first time he'd laid eyes on Tony. He was... well. Beautiful was the only word for it, much as Steve teased him for using the term. He wanted to bury his hands in Tony's brown hair - it looked thick and luxurious, when it wasn't smeared with what Bucky suspected might be engine oil. He'd love to wrap his arms around Tony and draw him in close, because he was pretty sure the guy was exactly the right height for Bucky to rest his chin on his head. It'd be great to be able to listen to Tony's warm, excited babbling about... well, anything really. Tony had a voice to die for. Maybe his facial hair was a bit... odd looking, but it was growing in, _Steve_ , and it would look amazing once it had finished. And yeah, okay, his clothes were always a bit on the shabby side and streaked with oil and grease and sometimes paint, but that was okay. Bucky's wardrobe hadn't been the best when he'd first been starting out either.

Tony always seemed to be in a hurry, dashing here and there with all the grace of a gazelle. Every once in a while (Bucky'd tried timing it, but Tony was too unpredictable) they met in their respective walkways - Tony was almost always on the way out, and did little more than wave and give a cheerful 'hey'. Bucky almost never even got a return greeting out, but that was mostly because his mouth would go dry and his heart would pound and he forgot 'how to language', and he hated Steve for taking a picture of his 'Tony Face' and captioning it with that dumb quote and sending it to all their friends. During those brief exchanges, Bucky sometimes saw little abrasions and burns on his hands and arms - Tony must work with his hands, which as a mechanic was something Bucky respected. He still wanted to soothe those little hurts with soft kisses and gentle touches, and that wasn't creepy no matter what Steve said. The urge to bite and lick at Tony's plump lips probably edged closer to creep-like behavior, but it wasn't all Bucky wanted. He wanted to talk to Tony and get to know him, wanted to spend hours wrapped up like blanket burritos and watching crappy movies. It'd be nice to walk down the street hand in hand, and yeah, he'd like to take Tony out on the town and go dancing or some shit like that.

Steve said he was getting sentimental in his 'old age'. Bucky thought Steve should shut his big mouth and make nice with their beautiful neighbor and then invite him over for beer and video games. It wasn't that he was _scared_ to talk to Tony, exactly. It was just that his body started doing all kinds of weird things when he tried, and Bucky wasn't so good with people anyway. It would really be better if Steve eased his way. The big blond jerk was a like a golden retriever - anyone who didn't like him was probably dead inside or straight up evil. They hadn't ever talked, but Bucky was pretty sure Tony wasn't either, so that would be for the best.

If stupid Steve would just agree to his plan, they might be dating already. Instead, his cruel best friend had declared Bucky's plight hilarious and wouldn't do anything that would put him out of his misery either way. Oh, he let Bucky go on and on (and on and on) about Tony, didn't tell him that watching the guy in the kitchen was bordering on stalker-ish (often) and even helped Bucky plan out how he would approach Tony (because he knew Bucky would never follow through). But he wouldn't actually _help_ , the fucker.

Usually he didn't watch through the window either, but Tony trying to get the dishwasher to work was something else. First came the loading of the dishes, which took anywhere between ten minutes and an hour, depending on the number of dishes and how many times Tony wandered away out of boredom or distraction. Then came a moment of quiet reflection as Tony contemplated the order of the loaded washer, and Bucky _swore_ that sometimes when Tony got on his phone at this point in the process he was trying to figure out if he'd done it right.

Then there came the saddest part - the adding of the dishsoap.

Tony couldn't be an idiot, because Bucky didn't like them dumb, but he did seem to be impatient - he was always in such a hurry. So part of his brain seemed to have decided that if he added more soap, the dishes would get done faster. That hypothesis never, ever worked out in his favor, but Bucky couldn't fault him for continuing to try. He didn't just do the same thing over and over either - he would try different soaps, or multiple kinds, or any number of small adjustments. Then, when the inevitable happened, he'd start ranting and raving at the machine, covered in soap suds and gesturing wildly. Once Bucky had seen him storm back into the kitchen the next day with tools, probably ready to take apart or maybe rewire the dishwasher or something... but as Tony had gotten his tools out, a thought had clearly come to him. He paused, then packed his tools back up. The dishwasher remained intact, and Tony remained unable to get it to work properly.

Steve had come to appreciate the ritual as much as he did, and it was the only time he would deign to join in 'Tony Watching'. Strangely enough, Bucky didn't appreciate the company. At first it had been nice, having someone else realize just how entrancing Tony could be - once he made very sure that Steve wasn't interested in pursuing his guy, anyway. But Steve was starting to sometimes make dry, scathing comments about Tony, and Bucky didn't really like that either. It wasn't Tony's fault he was so bad at using the dishwasher. He was in college, just starting out - Bucky hadn't known his goddamned knee from his elbow when he'd first struck out on his own. Being an adult was weird and hard, and as he watched Tony carefully measuring out another mixture that was doomed to fail (God, he'd ripped open _six_ different packets, what the hell was he thinking) Bucky came to a decision.

He'd had to figure out all the life shit on his own - Tony wouldn't need to.

"I'mma go help him." he announced, then swiftly hopped off the couch before his courage deserted him. Steve looked back over his shoulder, wearing a 'yeah, sure you are' look that made Bucky want to smack him. "No, really. He needs it, right? And I'm good with dishwashers. I'm _great_ with dishwashers." He knew he was babbling a little, but he couldn't stop. If he stopped, he'd realize what he was doing and would freak out too much to tie his sneakers. "Aren't I great with dishwashers, Stevie?"

"Never had a complaint since I moved in."

"Right. So I can help with the dishwasher, because that is not how you use 'em." The right shoe was tied, but the left was putting up a hell of a fight - he had to try a few times before his shaking fingers made the knot properly. "And then I could maybe see if he needed help with anything else. I mean just, you know, to be neighborly. I'm-"

"Very neighborly," Steve chimed in, having abandoned the view from the window to watch Bucky instead. "I know Buck. You're the most neighborly neighbor I ever met."

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up Stevie. You stay here and make your little jokes and draw your little pictures," Steve made an indignant sound and hurled one of the throw pillows at him. Bucky knocked it aside with a smile that was a lot more confident than he felt. "I'm gonna go help a guy with a dishwasher, then get him to agree to date me. Just you watch, Stevie. I'mma go get me a boyfriend."

"Take your coat!" Steve yelled after him as Bucky jogged to the door. He knew what the blond really meant was 'good luck, I'm right behind you', so he grabbed his leather jacket as a sign that he appreciated the thought. He even tugged it on, because he had the vague thought that Tony might be into bad boys, which he hoped wasn't true. While he was cranky and a bit blunt, he didn't really qualify as bad. 

Fuck, if Tony had a thing for bad boys, he was screwed. So screwed.

He didn't let that thought unnerve him entirely and threw himself out the door, slamming it behind him. It was really, really uncool of him, but Bucky ran all the way to Tony's, ignoring the calls of greeting he got from their other neighbors who were out enjoying the weather. He just had to get over to Tony's, NOW, because if he didn't he wouldn't ever, and he'd have to go live in Siberia out of shame. So focused on getting there as fast as he could, Bucky almost ran right into the door - he only just managed to bring himself to a screeching halt before he slammed against it.

"Okay," he breathed, staring at the intimidating barrier between him and happiness. "I got this. I can do this. He's just a guy, Bucky Barnes. Just a guy like you. Yeah he's the most beautiful guy you've ever seen, but it's fine." It occurred to him briefly that anyone watching probably thought he was a crazy person, but fuck them. He was about to put his heart on the line here, and a man needed a pep talk before that kind of thing. "You're good with dishwashers, which he clearly needs in his life, and you can help with all that other adult stuff while he's in school. You can do this. You can tell him that you want to go out on a date with him, but help him out even if he says no, because you are not that kind of prick. Okay. Okay." A breath, and then he moved on to his next pre-knocking conversation.

"Hey Tony. ... how do I know your name? Shit. Uhhh... Hey, my name's Bucky, I noticed you were home and... fuck. Don't make it sound like you been stalking him Barnes! ... hey. I'm Bucky, and I just haven't had a chance to welcome you to the neighborhood. Figured I'd do that now. ... Yeah. That works. That's good. Okay. Let's do this."

Knocking on Tony's door was the most nerve-wracking thing he'd ever done... at least until he had to stand there waiting for Tony to answer, fidgeting and fighting the urge to just bolt. "Hey, I'm Bucky... hadn't had a chance... figured I... Hey. I'm Bucky... welcome you..." He mumbled his prepared statement over and over, hoping that this wouldn't be another time when he forgot how to language. "Hey, I'm Bucky..."

It felt like three years before he finally heard feet running toward the door. He squared his shoulders and stood tall, lifting his hands in a quick attempt to make sure his hair was okay. Fuck, why hadn't he done that first?! No, Stevie woulda told him if it was a mess. He would have. So it was fine - his hair was good. "Hey, I'm Bucky, and I haven't had a chance-" The door yanked open halfway through what he'd meant to be his last rehearsal. He fixed a smile on his face, ready to meet his destiny... only to feel his eyes go wide and his mouth drop open.

Tony was _covered_ in suds from thigh to toe, and it was clear that his socks and pants were sopping wet. Even his shirt was soaked until just below his armpits, his hands were dripping water, and he had probably been tugging on that hair Bucky would love to touch, because parts of it were plastered down or sticking up, and they were dripping too. Despite all of that, and despite the spots of color high on those perfectly carved cheekbones, Tony leaned against the door as casually as anything. "Hey," he sounded a little breathless, the only nod he gave to his current predicament.

"Hey Tony, I'm... uhm. I mean I wanted... welcome to the- wait, I'm Bucky, that was supposed to come first-" His brain was _shrieking_ at his mouth to just stop, but it wasn't working, not even a little. "And I don't know you. I mean I know your... I, uhm... your mom, that first day you moved in, she... she said it a couple... not that I was watching!" If his feet weren't weighed down with the lead of shame, Bucky would have run right the fuck outta there. He wouldn't have even stopped at home to grab his clothes. He could buy new ones when he got to Siberia, to start his exciting new life as a Vodka salesman. "I mean. Uhm. What's up?"

Tony was staring at him, eyes wide, and _fuck_ Bucky hadn't known his lashes were that long. He sure as shit was noticing now, especially as the man blinked slowly at him. He'd never been jealous of a cheek before, but since he was pretty sure he could die happy if Tony's lashes ever brushed over _his_ skin like that, yeah. Yeah, he was super jealous of Tony's cheek. And God, he was jealous of his lower lip too, because Tony was biting and sucking it, and... God. If the earth wasn't willing to swallow him, he wished he could just die already. He was so, so far out of his league, and there was no way Tony would want him after that mess of an introduction. 

"I'll just... go now..." Because he was clearly too late to stop the dishwasher disaster, and he needed to buy a plane ticket. He hoped he had enough in the bank... but tickets to Siberia had to be pretty cheap, because who the fuck would want to live there? Only completely awkward losers who couldn't even say 'hey' properly, that's who. Sighing heavily, he exerted the monumental effort it took to lift his heavy feet and started to turn, wondering if he'd have to call Stevie to let him know he would need to find a new roommate or if that was the kind of thing you could put on a postcard.

"No!" To his eternal surprise, Tony lunged forward and grabbed his upper arm. They were frozen like that for several heartbeats, eyes locked - Bucky would swear a wind started up to lovingly tousle both of their hair. When the moment broke, Tony still had a grip on Bucky's bicep, while his other hand went to run through his hair. "I mean - you don't have to go." Tony grinned, and Siberia suddenly seemed like a cold, lonely, terrible place. How could he ever have thought about moving away from the sun? "That was probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen." The dancing light in Tony's brown eyes had his chest puffing out with pride, even if he felt like maybe he shouldn't feel that way about his shitty attempt at a 'hey' being 'adorable'. "Was that all you wanted? To say hello?"

"Uh. I mean... are you okay?" He asked, making sure to gesture to Tony with the arm he wasn't touching. "You look a little... that's a lotta suds." Bucky knew he sounded like an idiot, but with Tony smiling at him and holding onto his arm, he didn't care quite so much. "Do you need... I'm really good with dishwashers." Oh, for the love of-

"Really?" Bucky wouldn't have thought Tony could get any brighter, but he'd have been wrong. His smile before had been just a beam of light - now Bucky was getting a look at the _whole_ sun. "That's perfect! My dishwasher hates me, but my mom and Howard said I'm not allowed to take it apart and make it better, because I have to learn how to be a 'proper adult'." As he talked, Tony was waving his free hand in the air in an agitated fashion, pulling an unresisting Bucky into his house.

If he were honest, Bucky'd sort of been expecting the whole place to be a mess, based on what he'd seen going on in the kitchen. In reality, most of the rooms he saw looked barely lived-in at all. They were largely empty... soulless even. How could someone who exuded as much _life_ as Tony live in such bare surroundings? It made him want to grab Stevie and get him to paint the walls with some of his murals, or maybe just adorn the walls with his regular paintings. He could grab some stuff from their attic, the things left over after he and Stevie had consolidated their things. He could maybe even make a few things himself, if he could negotiate some time in the wood shop from his boss...

Tony towed him into the kitchen, then pointed dramatically to the dishwasher. "See? It hates me!" The machine was still going, belching bubbles with every second that passed. Already there was a wave of them along with a good half-inch of water that was spreading over the floor - Tony had maybe tried to stop the machine or keep the bubbles from falling to the floor and that's how he'd gotten so wet.

"It doesn't hate you, Tony," Bucky told him patiently with and understanding smile. "You just aren't treating it right. What are you feeding it?" Tony wriggled a little, and Bucky thought it maybe was out of excitement.

"You talk my language! Great. Okay. So." He was gearing up to tell a Story, Bucky realized, fighting the urge to laugh. "I don't like to do dishes, because it's boring, and I have better things to do. Way better things."

"Like homework?"

"Like _inventing the future_ ," Tony's whole face glowed with quiet joy as he looked ahead, and all Bucky wanted to do was ask Tony to take Bucky with him as he ran toward tomorrow. "College is just to make Howard happy. Well, I mean, I'm meeting some pretty cool people - like Rhodey, who is like, the best friend ever. He gave me his coffee the other day. That is the definition of a good bro. And some of the classes aren't as boring as I'd thought they'd be, and maybe, okay, yeah, some of the professors do have things to teach me, so I guess it wasn't an awful idea. But I would have been fine without going! I could have figured it all out on my own."

"I know. I bet you could do anything." Tony looked over at him with wide brown eyes framed by heavy lashes; after a second they floated downward, hiding those beautiful brown eyes from view. He ducked his head in a gesture Bucky could only think of as shy, and then... God help him, Tony looked at Bucky from under those lashes, and he just... that was just... wow. His own expression was probably that of a deer in headlights, but he couldn't help it. "I... uh. You were gonna, you know, tell me about why the dishwasher is angry enough to foam at the mouth. But if you'd rather talk about college or your friends or whatever, that is completely fine. I'll just..." Bucky stripped off his jacket, tossed it on the counter and rolled up his sleeves as he eyed the machine. "Did you try to cancel the cycle?"

"You can do that?" Bucky couldn't help but laugh, because that... that question explained so, so much.

"Yeah. You can do that. If you want to go change, I can take care of this. Just... what did you use for soap, Tony?"

"Uhm." Bucky watched his eyes flit guiltily to the various soap boxes lined up on the shoulder... and a small bottle of hand dishsoap that had been opened.

"You didn't."

"I'm trying to find the right mixture! The one brand leaves weird smears but it smells really good, and another one doesn't get sudsy enough and another one gets _too_ sudsy, and I guess part of me still remembers Jarvis teaching me to always use soap to wash dishes, and he was talking about the hand kind, so I just. I can't not add it sometimes, because it feels like I should, and..." Tony's hands, which had been flitting and circling in the air, came to a stop. "I don't really know what I'm doing." All of a sudden, he sounded tired and just a little bit lost. "I'm trying, because mom said it was the only way she'd get Howard to let me leave the house, but... I don't know. It's harder than I thought, I guess. I'm doing everything wrong, and I don't even... the rest of the house is all empty, and I... maybe I should have stayed at home. It was stupid to think I could do this alone."

Bucky's heart throbbed almost painfully in his chest, and without thinking he did one of the things he'd dreamed of doing. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Tony's waist, reeling him in slowly enough that Tony could break away if he wanted. The younger man didn't though, and Bucky was able to bring him to his chest, where he put his chin on Tony's head. "Life is hard, and being an adult sucks," he told Tony quietly. In return, Tony wrapped his arms loosely around Bucky's waist, giving a soft sigh into his chest. "None of us are good at it at first. I made a microwave explode once." Tony gave a laugh that sounded as wet as he was getting Bucky's shirt, so he tightened his grip on the younger man a little. "No, really - it was awful. And Stevie? Don't get me started on Stevie. My roommate," he clarified, in case didn't know. "Fucker breaks every piece of tech he touches. I won't even let him handle the remote anymore. He also can't do laundry for shit, and I can't cook anything but burnt tomato soup."

Tony was laughing against him now, so mission accomplished. "Thanks.... uh. You said your name was... Bucky?" Wow, that sure brought a guy back down to earth. 

"Bucky Barnes. James technically but nobody calls me that. Well, sometimes Stevie when he's being a shit. I mean..." He stopped and took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling. "Fuck. I can't word right around you. Yes. Name's Bucky." Tony's fingers balled up the back of his shirt as he gripped in his fists, and when he peeked up, he was smiling.

"You're doing fine. And really - thanks. I sorta needed a hug today."

"No problem." Feeling brave with Tony hugging him back, Bucky bent his head to drop a light kiss to Tony's forehead. "Go get changed into something dry, and I'll fix this. Then... then maybe I could... uh. I mean, so you don't have to dirty any more dishes. But that's not why I'm asking! Jesus Christ. I've wanted to ask you out since the first time I saw you," he finally told the man bluntly, stomach full of clumsily flying albatrosses instead of delicate butterflies. "You were getting out of your car, smiling at your mom, and... and you were so beautiful, and you had the best laugh... but I couldn't... I didn't want to intrude. And then you were always leaving and in a hurry, and... right. Okay. I can do this." He buried his nose in Tony's hair and took a deep breath - when he did, he got the faintest whiff of engine oil, which made him smile. "Wanna go out for dinner once I placate your dishwasher?"

Tony leaned back far enough that their eyes could meet, the same glow surrounding him as when he'd talked about the future. "That sounds great. I'd love to."

Giving a whoop of victory, Bucky lifted a laughing Tony into the air and swung him around in a circle several times. When he set him down again, he pressed their foreheads together - he didn't think it was time for their first kiss, not just yet. "That's great. That's... the best really." he murmured, ignoring the voice that told him he should just take Tony out now and the dishwasher could go fuck itself. But that would be irresponsible, and he was trying to help Tony be an adult, soooo...

When he lifted his head to let Tony go, he caught sight of Steve through the window. His best friend gave him two thumbs up, and Bucky flipped him off behind Tony's back, not even trying to hold back the shit-eating grin on his lips. When Bucky Barnes said he was gonna get a boyfriend, he damn well got himself a boyfriend.

And he didn't even need to be able to language or word right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two months later, Bucky learns that Jarvis was Tony's _butler_ and that Tony is a _Stark_ , which explains everything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, listen - razorbladebaby13's comment on this story gave me _ideas_ , and I just wanted to put them where other people could see them too. XD
> 
> Very short and kind of silly. <3 Comments anyway maybe?

Honestly, it all sort of falls into place - no wonder Tony doesn't know even the most basic of survival skills. Really, the only change is that he starts nagging Tony into buying things that he needs now that he knows Tony can afford them. Like a comfortable couch and actual food, and 'more than one fork, Tony' and 'actual shampoo, because only barbarians wash their hair with body soap' and 'a goddamned vacuum cleaner, Tony - most of your floors are fucking carpeted, you beautiful disaster'.

Even when he meets Tony's parents for the first time, he keeps hold of his language skills. It's a little harder in the face of the way Maria coos over him, thanking him for helping her baby and complimenting him for being so handsome. 'Isn't he just the sweetest thing, Howard?' she asks several times when Bucky shows what he thinks of as common courtesy. When Howard finally grunts at her to _stop fluttering, Maria_ , she falls into a cold, stony silence that lasts until her husband puts his scotch down and apologizes for being such a bore.

It isn't until Bucky meets Jarvis that he loses his words again. This is the man that practically raised Tony, the man who's approval he _really_ wants. Jarvis was there when Howard was busy with work, and when Maria was fluttering good-naturedly from project to project. Tony talks about Jarvis more than he does anyone else, even Rhodey and the slowly evolving Dum-E. So when Tony introduces them, Bucky is understandably anxious. He fumbles so badly that before he knows it he's offering two horses and a gaggle of geese in exchange for Tony's hand in marriage, because he'd watched a documentary on early marriage customs the night before and he _did_ want to marry Tony, and he's just a little nervous.

Now Tony is the one cooing at him, Jarvis looks quietly amused, and Bucky's just thankful Stevie wasn't there to witness his latest inability to do words properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a Tumblr where you can send prompts if you want, but it takes me a long time usually to get to them. XD It's [here](tahlreth.tumblr.com) if you're interested.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. This part is RoozetteR's fault. XD It isn't them at the altar, but that's because I was like 'they should live together first', and then this happened.

"We've been going out for more than a year... no, no, I should use the right months. Right? Okay. So. It's been a year and three months since I fixed your dishwasher- fuck. No. I don't need to mention-" Bucky took a deep breath and shoved both hands into his hair, scrubbing at his scalp. Why was this so goddamned hard? "Okay. Look, I love... uh. Hanging out with you? I mean, we haven't said - but I do! I honestly just... I mean. That's not the conversation I... shit. Shit shit shit. Okay. Lemme start over." Yanking his hands out of his hair, Bucky went back to his 'this is just a casual conversation, no big deal' stance - shoulders slumped and hands in his pockets, because who had super serious conversations with his hands in their pockets? No one, that's who, so this was obviously just a thing that had been on his mind, not something that would absolutely break his heart if his guy told him no.

"Okay. So Tony, I've been thinking. I mean, not that I've been obsessing over it or thinking about it since we were six months... no. That's not the- fuck a duck. Okay. I can do do this, words are not hard. I can word very well - almost as good as I am with dishwashers. ... ... that wasn't the right way to say that. FUCK. Get a grip Barnes. Tony. I'm over at your house almost all the time anyway, and now Stevie's dating that - uh. I mean. Ha ha. Stevie's new girlfriend is a delight. Um. And it's not just because I'm over so much either, because it's not... I just... I mean. Fuck. Tony - I think we should move in together. Would that... I mean. Is that something that you, you know, might want?"

"... no."

"Stevie!" His practice audience didn't even deign to look up at him. Instead he was studying the single chip in his hand with all the solemn consideration of that fucker Hamlet talking to a goddamned skull. After a few more seconds of refusing to answer to his name, the big blond opened his mouth and (so daintily that Bucky wanted to throw a shoe at his face) ate the chip one tiny bite at a time. Only the knowledge that he had asked Stevie for this dumb favor and the fact that his best friend had agreed kept him from lunging at the man with the intent to strangle the sass out of him. "... well why the fuck not?"

"I'm so glad you asked. First of all, you asshole, Natasha is more than just 'a delight'. You know what else you say is a 'delight'? Your ma's potato casserole, and we both know it's one of the worst tasting things on the face of the earth. So if I ever hear you call my Nat that again, no matter how much I love ya, I will pound your face in."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. She's fucking scary man."

"I know." The dopey smile on Stevie's face was kinda sweet, and he was happy his best friend was happy, but they were in the middle of something very, very important, so he needed to focus.

"What was the rest of the reason?"

"Huh?"

"Well, the Natasha thing was 'first of all'. What the rest?"

"Oh. That was it, really."

'What?" Bucky thought his flat tone of voice was completely justified, but Stevie was just rolling his eyes like Bucky was the one being the drama queen. Which, quite frankly, bitch please. Stevie was the most dramatic fucking person he'd ever met, where Bucky was pretty much the epitome of keeping things mellow and relaxed. The thing with Tony was just a... a fluke. He just would think of Tony's beautiful face and those expressive eyes and words just... they got really hard.

"Look, Tony is head over heels in love with you-"

"We haven't said-"

"I don't give a shit what you have or haven't said to each other. You two are idiots in love. He's not going to say no."

"You really think?"

"Buck. Most of your clothes are already there. So is your actual toothbrush - the one you keep here is a flimsy spare one. Most of your tools live with Tony now-"

"With his." Bucky interrupted, well aware that now he was the one wearing a dopey smile. "Our tools live together."

"Probably making little baby tools," Steve replied dryly before shaking his head. "Your favorite books are over there, over half the groceries you buy go over there, and when you aren't there Tony's here. Making the living thing together official is going to change very little."

"You'll need a new roommate."

"Sam's been waiting for you to get you ass in gear for months."

"You fucking punk. You already filled my room?"

"Yup. He gets along with Nat too."

"I get along with Nat just fine!" Steve shot him 'look', then softened it into a smile.

"I know, Buck. But you're ready to move in with Tony. Been ready for a long time, I think we both know that. We'll always be best friends and all, but you got a guy waiting right next door who is crazy about you. Me and Nat aren't anywhere close, and now that Sam's graduated college, he's ready to get a place that's away from his parents. So it works out perfect."

"You're that sure he'll say yes?"

"Of course he will, you idiot."

"Then why the fuck did you let me do this?"

"To watch, to mock, to laugh... and to record." Stevie held up his phone, shit-eating smirk on his face. That was a fucking declaration of war if Bucky'd ever seen one, and so he finally gave in to the urge to lunge at his best friend. Their wrestling match knocked over two potted plants and ripped down a set of curtains, and it ended in a sour draw. Because sure, Bucky ended up getting Steve to cry uncle... but not before the fucker had sent his sneaky footage to all their friends. He guessed he was just lucky Stevie hadn't sent it to Tony.

Probably only because he though it would be funnier to make Bucky fumble his way through asking Tony himself.

~.~.~

"I like your sleepy face." The announcement was abrupt and made over a very fancy dinner of grilled cheese hot dogs and slightly burnt tomato soup. Tony came to a stop with a sandwich halfway to his mouth, blinking at Bucky a few times before slowly lowering it back to his plate. Bucky, meanwhile, was trying very hard to disappear, because _what the fuck_. What the actual fuck? His mouth was such a little traitor, and a stupid one at that.

"Thanks Buck-a-boo," Tony answered, wearing the smile that always made Bucky feel better about being such a fucking spazz sometimes. A spazz that couldn't language right at all, which was even fucking worse. "I like your sleepy face too. And your sleeping face, and your awake faces - I like all of 'em. Your face is one of my favorite sights in general." Okay, that was making him blush just a little, because Tony was being all beautiful and so sweet, and he liked Bucky's face, and he just had the best fucking boyfriend ever.

"I love your face. All your faces. Love. Like, a lot." Note cards - he needed to invest in some motherfucking note cards if he was going to keep dating this wonderful man. Probably until well after they were married too. Fuck, if they had kids Bucky was going to need them for that too, and for all their anniversaries, and... shit. He was going to be buying note cards for the rest of his life. Though if that meant he was with Tony that long, he was pretty okay with that.

"Love your face too." When Bucky looked over at him, he was surprised to see that Tony was blushing faintly now too. It was hard to get the younger man to turn red - he might look shy every now and again, but otherwise possessed very little shame. For some reason, the hint of red there now gave Bucky enough courage to try to get to the point he'd been circling around for days.

"I mean. I love seeing your face. All the time. I like it when it's the last thing I see before I fall asleep, you know? That's my favorite face. Of yours. When you're all... but that's not actually what I'm trying... no. It's okay. I'll start there. I can do this."

"'Course you can. Take your time, my little macaroon." Tony leaned forward on his elbows, chin plopped in one hand as he stared at Bucky. It was sort of amazing, how little Tony minded the way he stumbled and fumbled with his words. He would just smile and coo and tell Bucky that he was adorable. Lots of times he got kisses after, which he thought encouraged bad habits, but he would never turn down a kiss from Tony.

"Okay. So when we're in bed - not when we're... you know, doing the sex - Jesus fucking Christ, that's not how you say that. And I mean, the sex is great, but that isn't what... No. I have a point. I do, I promise. Look. My favorite part of the day is when we're doing that - laying in bed together, not having sex even though, again, the sex is pretty fan-fucking-tastic. But when we're getting ready to sleep, and you can hardly keep your eyes open and you're starting to kind of drool, it's my favorite face. 'Cause it means I'm gonna get to see your waking-up face in the morning."

"Buck-a-boo..." There came the cooing, and Tony reached across the table with his free hand to take hold of Bucky's. "That's so sweet."

"Well I ain't done."

"I'm listening."

"Okay. I also love... I mean. Look, I know you think it's embarrassing, but when you do the thing where you start something and then wander away because you got an idea? I love it. I even love it when it means we have to have takeout because dinner is burned beyond hope, or when I don't have the clothes I need in the morning because you forgot to finish the laundry. And. And the way you brush your teeth. I like that too. And the way you leave your shit _everywhere_ instead of picking up after yourself, and the way you drink straight out of the milk carton even though I've told you a gazillion times, and the way you can't vacuum for shit, and the way you tell me all about your day, even the smallest, littlest things. I just..." They hadn't said it yet, and saying it wasn't the point of this conversation, but... but...

But Tony was looking a little misty eyed and expectant, and he was squeezing Bucky's fingers tightly. So maybe... maybe it was okay. Maybe it was alright to say it.

"I love _you_ , Tony. More than anything, actually." He hadn't even finished that second sentence before Tony was out of his chair and flinging himself at Bucky, who caught him easily. His boyfriend was laughing and maybe crying a little as he dropped kisses over every inch of Bucky's face. Each little kiss had his smile growing bigger until he was laughing too, holding Tony steady in his lap as Tony framed his face in his calloused, engineer's hands.

"I love you too, Buck-a-boo," Tony finally whispered - not that Bucky had been afraid he wouldn't say it back. Much. As soon as the words were out, Bucky surged up to capture those beautiful, plump lips with his own in a hard kiss. Tony returned it eagerly, and Bucky lost track of time as they made out, breathing each other's air whenever they weren't actively kissing. When their fervor finally cooled, he pressed his forehead against Tony's collarbone, panting softly.

"Jesus, Tony." His boyfriend giggled breathlessly, then buried his hands in Bucky's hair, playing happily with the long strands. Bucky knew it wouldn't be long before he was braiding it, or just curling sections around his fingers and tugging gently. Tony liked to play with Bucky's hair as much as Bucky liked to play with his, really - sometimes they fought over who was going to get to touch who's hair.

"Love our silly fights," he mumbled into Tony's shirt, smiling. "Love when you pout 'til I let you win. Love when you do that thing with your cold feet. Love when you steal all my blankets then bitch at me to turn the thermostat down because you're hot. Love how you bring me coffee and cupcakes as an apology whenever you think you've been too snappish and snarly with me. I love you, Tony. And I... that wasn't actually what the point was, but _fuck_ am I happy to get it out, because it's been-"

"I know, Buck. For me too. God I love you." Tony tugged him up by his hair for another kiss - this one sweeter and shorter before he tucked Bucky back under his chin. "If that wasn't the point... did you finally round up enough geese to call it a gaggle?" That sly jab earned Tony the tickling he deserved, until he was the one collapsed against Bucky and breathing hard against his throat. "Never mind, don't love you," he sulked even as he nuzzled closer.

"Liar."

"Yeah."

"Hey Tony?"

"Hey Buck-a-boo?"

"What would you think if... well. I mean. I'm here all the time, and Stevie already has someone waiting to take my room over, and... well, I mean, none of that's why I'm asking, I'm asking because of your sleepy face and your dumb cold feet and your shitty cleaning skills and because I love you. Uhm. Could I maybe... or if you didn't want to stay here, we could go... anywhere, really. I'd go anywhere, as long as you were there and we were, you know, together. So could we maybe be together? In the living with each other sort of way?" Tony, who'd sat up straight about halfway through his fumbling attempt, was doing that thing he did sometimes, where it looked like he was glowing from pure joy, like the light he carried inside of him was doing its best to shine on the people around him too.

"Really? You really want to?"

"Well, yeah. I love you, and we've been going steady for a long time now, Tony, and... and I just want to be with you. All the time. Even for the weirdest, shittiest parts of being an adult." Tony suddenly hopped out of his lap, and the only thing that kept Bucky's heart from shattering outright was the 'I love you's they'd exchanged. But when the younger man headed for the door, worry overtook elation completely. "Tony?"

"Bucky, come on! We gotta go get the rest of your clothes and stuff, and tell Steve and probably that scary girlfriend of his that you won't be living there anymore because now you live with me."

"Yeah?" Bucky asked, a slow smile curving his lips as he stood up.

"Yup! You're mine now, Buck-a-boo. Steve is going to have to stick with his poor man's Bucky Barnes forever. Not ever giving you back." Laughing softly, Bucky put on a bit of speed to catch up to his boyfriend. Once he had, he grabbed hold of Tony's hand, then brought it to his lips for a kiss.

"Promise you'll keep me forever?"

"Promise. Promise you'll stammer and forget how to word around me forever?"

"You can fucking bet on it."


End file.
